Bass Pro buying Cabela's

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Bass Pro Shops to Acquire Cabela’s

Deal for $4.5 billion in cash; comes as sporting goods industry struggles with tepid sales

 

Bass Pro Shops reached a deal to acquire Cabela’s Inc. for about $4.5 billion in cash, combining two of the biggest sellers of outdoor-sports equipment and apparel.

Cabela’s shareholders will receive $65.50 a share, a 19% premium to Friday’s close, in a deal the companies say will combine complementary product lines and domestic geographic markets. The companies valued the deal at $5.5 billion; company-provided deal values often include debt and other items.

Shares of Cabela’s, up 18% this year, rose about 15% to $63.00 in recent premarket trading.

 

The move comes as the sporting goods industry has been struggling with tepid sales. Cabelas in December had said that it was reviewing its strategic options, including a possible sale, as the outdoor-sports retailer was under pressure from activist investor Elliot Management Corp. Reuters in April had reported that Bass Pro Shops was preparing an offer for Cabelas.

Privately owned Bass Pro Shops also said it will begin a multiyear partnership with a unit of Capital One Financial Corp. for a Cabela’s co-branded credit card. The companies said their customer-loyalty programs will remain unchanged.

The deal, which is expected to close in the first half of next year, includes Cabela’s 85 specialty retail stores, primarily in the western U.S. and Canada and Bass Pro Shops’ 99 stores and Tracker Marine Centers located primarily in the eastern part of the U.S. and Canada.